With everything being equal, the Red Bulls feel pretty good about their chances in Sunday’s second leg against D.C. United in the Eastern Conference semifinals at Red Bull Arena, but there are things that are out of their control that could greatly affect the outcome of the game – and beyond.
Yellow cards, red cards, injuries. You never know what might happen. Unfortunately, Red Bulls fans have seen it before in the postseason, those uncertain things that come up that cost the franchise a shot at MLS Cup in years when it was believed a championship could have been achieved.
Two years ago was a perfect example. The Red Bulls were playing the Houston Dynamo in the first leg of the Eastern Conference semifinals in Houston and had a 2-0 lead at halftime. In the second half, with the score 2-1, Red Bulls defender Jamison Olave was given a straight red card for a dangerous tackle. The Red Bulls tried to hold on, but surrendered the tying goal in stoppage time.
In the second leg, with Olave suspended, a mistake in the back line led to a goal that tied the score on aggregate, and Houston netted the winner in extra time to eliminate the Red Bulls, who had won the Supporters’ Shield just weeks before.
We bring this up because the Red Bulls will play the second leg against D.C. United with central defenders Matt Miazga and Ronald Zubar having each picked up a yellow card in the first leg. Another one Sunday and they will miss the first leg of the Eastern Conference Finals, either at Montreal or at Columbus, should the Red Bulls advance.
“Obviously you have to be careful because it’s one part of things we have to deal with,” Zubar said. “You have to also make sure you go on the field and do the job. If somebody has to take a yellow for any reason, you have to. It’s your job.
“You have to go on the field and make sure you are careful with it. You don’t think about it. Just do the job. I’m not really a defender that takes a lot of yellows. I only have two previous in games.”
Zubar’s caution came just 18 minutes after he replaced Perrinelle. He ventured out of the box on the left and slid to knock the ball away just as D.C. United midfielder Markus Halsti arrived. Zubar’s boot caught Halsti’s leg and he tripped and fell forward. D.C. United players and coach Ben Olsen screamed for a red card, but the referee only showed the yellow.
With defender Damien Perrinelle having torn the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in the first leg, Miazga and Zubar is the starting tandem moving forward. The biggest concern with that is they have only started two games together this season, the 3-1 victory over New York City FC June 28 and the 3-2 loss to the Chicago Fire Aug. 26.
And the game against the Fire was the only one where both played the full 90 minutes together. That doesn’t bother Miazga. Neither does the yellow card situation. He doesn’t expect to change his game one bit.
“I’m just going to go out the same way. I’m not going to think about me having a yellow card,” said Miazga, whose caution came in the 35th minute for a foul against D.C. forward Fabian Espindola. “I can’t think about that because if I do then I’ll be scared of challenges that I need to go in hard. I’m not going to be concerned about my yellow.
“Obviously I’m going to be cautions, and I’ll be thinking about it, but I’m going to go out and play my usual game. It’s going to be a little difficult being on a yellow, but tactics don’t change at all and the way I play doesn’t change at all.”
With Perrinelle out, the only other central defender with a decent amount of minute this season is Karl Ouimette. Roy Miller is finally healthy and available, but has not fared well in his time in the middle.
Either way, it doesn’t bother Red Bulls coach Jesse Marsch. He is a believer in the next guy off the bench has to be ready to do the job.
“It’s important that we can’t have both get a yellow card in one game, so we’ll make sure that we manage the game correctly that way,” Marsch said. “They’ll have to be slightly cautious but we don’t want it to be so cautious that it costs us, so they’ve got to go out and play. And if neither one of them is ready to go, then we’ve got Karl Ouimette and Roy Miller that are ready to step in.
“This is the way that teams work. This is the way our team works, and whoever is being called on on the day we believe in him and he’ll step in and do the job.”
Marsch has been pretty predictable in his substitution pattern, especially in the second half of the season. Midfielders Shaun Wright-Phillips and Gonzalo Veron have been the first two off the bench for two reasons. They are the two best attacking options off the bench, and they have fresh legs for the midfield, which does the bulk of the running in the high press.
The third sub has often been defensive midfielder Sean Davis, but Marsch may have to hold that slot for a defender should Miazga or Zubar receive a second yellow. He might have to take the one who didn’t get the card off the field to make sure both aren’t suspended for the next game.
“If one of them picks up a yellow, and depending on what the score is, we might have to sub one of them out to prevent him from picking up a yellow,” Marsch said. “There’s precautionary moves that we can make, but I think that this is all part of this time of year and the team that we build and the fact that so many guys have contributed in a big way this year.
“It’s never about any one guy. If we need someone to step in we’ll have belief in him and he’ll step in and do the job. They’ll know their role and they’ll execute. We’ll have to be a little bit cautious with those guys in the back.”
Miazga and Zubar are tall, physical players, and you would want them in there in the next round, whether it be against the Impact and Didier Drogba, or against the Crew and Kei Kamara. If that’s the case, maybe Ouimette should start for either Miazga or Zubar just to play it safe.
Marsch quickly said that wouldn’t be the case.
“We’re going to put our first team out there again,” he said. “They’ll be a big challenge whether it’s Drogba or Kamara in the next round, but right now we’ve got to focus on getting to the next round. We can’t take anything for granted.”
